A Comparison of the Effects of Vocabulary Portfolio Methods on Vocabulary Production of Elementary Students
Abstract
Effective use of appropriate vocabulary learning strategies enhances vocabulary range of EFL learners. Portfolios illustrate students' best assignments, their progress and learning over an educational term.
In this regard, the aim of the present study is to examine the effects of vocabulary portfolio methods including word map and visual thesaurus on vocabulary production of 6th graders in an EFL context. To this end, a sample of 64 male EFL students from one public elementary school in Tehran, Iran was selected. They were divided into two experimental groups (vocabulary portfolio groups) and one control group. The vocabulary portfolio groups received word map and visual thesaurus techniques. Fill-in-the-blanks vocabulary tests were utilized to assess vocabulary production of the students. One one-way ANOVA procedure was run to analyse the obtained results. Findings of the present study revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the groups, implying that the participants of the word map outperformed their classmates in the other two groups on the vocabulary production test.